Nearly two month ago I made a post about my game development plans for the future. I also made the bold statement that I want to become a well-known name in the game business. I even had the nerves to write it this way: “one of the big names in the game business”. Depending on which path I would take I wanted to reach that goal within 3 years (if working as an indie developer) or within 9 years (if working in a company).
It is easy to make such statements and let them rot in the archives. But I will evaluate and analyze my road map every two month. Why?
1. For me to see, if I am still on track
2. For you, so that you know which projects I am working on and how the current status is.
3. For the future, so that people who want to go the same direction can learn from my experience
So… let’s start… Full honesty and no excuses… LESSONS LEARNED will be introduced that way 
Indie Game projects:
Rock ‘n’ Risk: Blitz
Intended release date early July
The game is finished and it is also sponsored. Part of the deal is also the localization of the game in 15 different languages (provided by the sponsor) for which I had to change some parts of the code and also some buttons/graphics. The sponsor hasn’t finished the localizations yet, but as soon as they provide it, I can implement it and the game is ready to go. Of course the sponsor sets the final release date on their sites, so that I cannot give any concrete date at the moment.
LESSONS LEARNED: While having a nice fitting font might be good for the overall design, it is problematic when it comes to localizations (special characters, totally different alphabets (Japanese, Chinese), etc.). So I probably should consider to use more standardized fonts for buttons. Also the text shouldn’t be hard coded, but stored in a separate static class and called when needed.
Project: Sunshine Episode 1
Intended release date end of July
This project is also finished for 2 weeks, but I haven’t found a sponsor for this one at the moment. Based on some additional feedbacks I improved the tutorial of the game. The “problem” with this game is that its uniqueness makes it difficult for sponsors to estimate the potential success of the game, especially with the very diverse Flash game audience. Sponsors/publishers have of course also financial interests and they target different audiences, so that it can take some time and talking before the right one has been found.
LESSONS LEARNED: It is very hard to provide/expect a certain release date, when sponsors/publishers are involved. They even set the release dates, so basically it was a bit naive and too optimistic of me to provide those dates. Because of demanded changes to the game, additional material or finding the right sponsor/publisher there can be various delays. So for future announcements I will write down when I expect to finish a certain status of the game (finished/beta etc.). The good thing is that those delays doesn’t have any effects on other projects, because they are mainly just waiting periods.
Survive ‘n’ Risk (formerly Rock ‘n’ Risk 2)
Intended release date end July/early August
As intended in the original Road Map the title has been changed, because the gameplay is quite different in comparison to Rock ‘n’ Risk. But some proven core concepts of Rock ‘n’ Risk are also included, so that it can be viewed as a spin-off. The game will be completed this Wednesday (July 21th) and I will add an additional week to let the game be play-tested and balance it accordingly.
Project: Sunshine Episode 2
Intended release date end of August
Well… this one is quite related to Episode 1, of course I would like to see how Episode 1 will be perceived by the public and include feedbacks and ideas into Episode 2.
University projects:
Imagine Cup
The Imagine Cup took place from July 3rd-8th, 2010 and it was a really awesome experience although not game related in my case. I met lots of people from around the world (Malta, Philippines, New Zealand…) and there was lots of positive energy. So although it was a competition and it had its stress periods, I felt like I was back from a vacation after the Imagine Cup! In the competition our team from my university took part in the category Software Design, in which there were 3 rounds. In each round every team needed to do a 20 minutes presentation (including the prototype presentation) and answer questions in the 15 minutes Q&A sessions in front of judges.
Round 1 included 68 teams from around the world and we qualified for the next round.
Round 2 included 12 teams and we didn’t qualify for the next round
The final included 6 teams and they presented their solutions in the Opera House of Warsaw in front of the judges and spectators. It was really a professional setting and I would have loved to present there.
In general we are proud to be in the Top 12 and I think it is a really great accomplishment. I learned a lot, made new friends and as mentioned felt really good afterwards
Diplom/Master Thesis
I hope to be able to release the beta in a month from now[...] (so basically I meant end of June)
First of all we are talking about a Facebook social game prototype, which is also based on aspects from psychological research. And the date I mentioned was absolutely overoptimistic 
Meanwhile I have also found other resources about group dynamics (I also need to do a 80-100 pages thesis not only the prototype) and I have some changes in the design. I expect to have a beta running in October 2010. The graphics will be done by Michael and the first graphics I have seen look truly awesome and professional. So I have really a good feeling about this prototype.
So this was the first check. Overall I think it is going quite well at the moment. Although I have made mistakes with the release dates, everything seems on track and I am confident to find a good sponsor for Project Sunshine. In the upcoming two month I will mainly work on my master thesis and probably Project Sunshine Episode 2.
Thanks for following this and in September there will be the next check
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